The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1887-12-29

himself so far as to emit a small, faint
whistle.
ssStop that noise over there" said a stern
voice, the owner of which looked out from
behind the folds of the evening paper with
a frown: Joseph Rexford was homely
enough, taken at his best, but with an ugly
frown added, he was terrific, though prob
ably not aware of 1t, for people seldom get
before q glass to make up ugly faces.
''They were only talking a little about
Christmas" said Mrs. Rexford, tim
idly; the wives Of such men are invariably
timid, or else, in very bravado of despair,
intolerable scolds, and Mrs. Rexford could
ever be that.
She would have been the sunniest and
sweetest of little women, had she not been
clapped under a bushel by Joseph Rexford
at q very early stage in their married life,
and, as might be supposed, she was pretty
nearly extinguished bv this time.
"Cbristmas! !" he growled, contemptuous-
~. Cali nonsense and folly, they'd better be
| tendin' to their rethmetic or q shellin' them
! seeds. / had to work evenin's when I was
| their age, an hadn't no time to be hatchln'
| up foolery."
Gall work and no play makes Jack a dull
boy" gently demonstrated the wife.
'They're not too old to enjoy a little recrea-
ton, Joseph, and I wish we could give them
a little Christmas treat" She wondered
| afterward at her own holiness, for she did
| not often venture within reach Of the lions
claws, or, in other words, her husbands dis
pleasure.
He looked at her in establishments; he sup
posed he had her subdued, and the idea that
she could propose any thing that be had just
put his foot On as "foolery" shocked him.
"Mrs. Rexford," and his voice was a bit
of condensed harshness, 81 thought you
knew my mind on sech trifin' years ago,
and I want you to understand once and for
all, I uon't hare it," and the big foot came
down on the uncarpeted floor with a snap.
"And you young ones, stop your snivelin'
over there, or I'll give you something to
SWIVEL about" and the mighty potentate
| glared over in the corner, where little Nan
was struggling with a sob Of mingled terror
and disappointment, for at her mothers
kind words it seemed so easy to have just q
little bit Of Christmas, at least.
"Darn him" whispered Ted, clinching his
fists, and shaking them at the household
monarch, who had again wrapped himself
in his newspaper. 'sIn run away, see if ]
don't, an I'll have a Christmas tree every
day when I get big"
Ills ldCHeJ would AVE neeQoQ no IurCnef
busting for months to come, if the parent
could have seen the belligerent action, but,
fortunately, the paper was not transparent,
and Mr.. Rexford was deep in an article on
the Irish question.
He looked up presently; he had the COM
placent feeling Of the bulldog, who comes
up uppermost in the fight, and could look
upon his vanquished subjects with amiable
condescension. 81 guess those Britishers
III find they can't always abuse them poor
Irishers." he said. ''They'n find out, sooner
or later, hat it don't pay to aller play the
tyrant."
Mrs. Rexford received the information
with a proper degree Of humility, and only
q subdued, "hm-m-m,'' escaped her lips,
but she thought to herself that it would not
be necessary to cross the ocean to find a
tyrant, if one were urgently needed, and
wondered rebelliously if it was always
going to pay hun to assume the character
he so deprecated in his British %neighbors.
Bedtime came, and Ted and Nan, with
little Jane, crept of toward their beds. No
cheerful, goodnight, papa" with the kiss
which sweetens slumber, and ushers the
children into a happy dreamland; Mr..
Rexford's soul would have recoiled at such